Lighting equipment

Abstract

To provide an illumination device which can improve design unity with a design surface of a passenger compartment, and can effectively illuminate an illumination area.SOLUTION: An illumination device 10 comprises: a front case 12 and a rear case 50 which have a front edge part 12A that can be located along a design surface S of a passenger compartment F and extend along Y direction; LEDs 31, 32 which are accommodated in the front case 12, and can emit light along optical axes 31A, 32A that are inclined in a +X direction with respect to a Y direction; and a reflector 20 which is accommodated in the front case 12, and has a reflection surface 25 that is so formed as to surround the optical axes 31A, 32A of the LEDs 31, 32. The reflection surface 25 of the reflector 20 are formed so as to gradually spread out along the optical axes 31A, 32A from the LEDs 31, 32. The LEDs 31, 32 are arranged in a Z direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a lighting device, and more particularly to a lighting device for illuminating the interior of a vehicle such as an automobile. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, in order to prevent accidents involving automobiles and the like, a lighting device that illuminates the driver and a camera that captures an image of the driver are provided to monitor the driver's condition. Due to the structure of the automobile, such lighting devices are generally placed in a position offset from the front of the driver's seat. For this reason, conventional lighting devices are configured to efficiently illuminate the driver's seat by having a housing that houses a light source protrude from the design surface of the vehicle interior and facing the housing toward the driver's seat (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] On the other hand, there is a demand to embed such lighting devices in the interior design of the vehicle to enhance the sense of unity in design. However, the interior design of the vehicle often does not face the driver's seat, and if a conventional lighting device is installed along the interior design of the vehicle, the light source faces in a direction different from the driver's seat, which causes a problem that the driver's seat cannot be efficiently illuminated. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-95541 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems of the conventional technology, and aims to provide a lighting device that can enhance design integration with the decorative surface of the vehicle interior and effectively illuminate the lighting area. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lighting device that can enhance the design integration with the design surface of the vehicle interior and can effectively illuminate an illumination area. The lighting device includes a housing having a front edge portion that can be arranged along the design surface of the vehicle interior and extending in a depth direction from the front edge portion, a first light source fixed inside the housing and capable of emitting light along a first optical axis inclined in a width direction perpendicular to the depth direction with respect to the depth direction, and a second light source fixed inside the housing and capable of emitting light along a second optical axis parallel to the first optical axis, the second light source being aligned with the first light source in the depth direction and the width direction, high a second light source disposed at a different position in the height direction; a reflector fixed inside the housing and having a cylindrical first reflecting surface formed so as to surround the first optical axis of the first light source and a cylindrical second reflecting surface formed so as to surround the second optical axis of the second light source, and the first light source and the second light source are arranged at different positions in the height direction. Placed side by side The first reflecting surface and the second reflecting surface are connected to each other in the height direction. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an illumination device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a portion in which the lighting device shown in FIG. 1 is housed. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the lighting device shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the lighting device shown in FIG. 1 taken at the center in the X direction. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a view of the lighting device shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the lighting device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 1 to 8. In Figs. 1 to 8, identical or corresponding components are denoted with the same reference numerals, and duplicated description will be omitted. In addition, in Figs. 1 to 8, the scale or dimensions of each component may be exaggerated or some components may be omitted. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish components from each other, and do not represent a specific order or sequence.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a lighting device 10 in one embodiment of the present invention. For example, in a driver monitoring system (DMS) that monitors the state of a driver of a vehicle (such as a decline in attention or signs of drowsiness), the driver may be illuminated with light such as infrared light when the driver is imaged by a camera. In this embodiment, the lighting device 10 is described as a lighting device used in such a driver monitoring system, but it goes without saying that the lighting device according to the present invention can also be used for other purposes. In this embodiment, for convenience, the +Y direction in FIG. 1 is referred to as "front" or "forward", and the -Y direction is referred to as "rear" or "rear".

[0010] 2, the lighting device 10 is embedded in an instrument panel (center cluster) 1 between a driver's seat D and a passenger seat P of an automobile, and the lighting device 10 in this embodiment is arranged (housed) so as to be integrated with a design surface S located closer to the driver's seat D. For example, infrared rays are irradiated from this lighting device 10 toward the driver's seat D, and an image of the driver is captured by a camera (not shown) to analyze the driver's condition.

[0011] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the lighting device 10, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the lighting device 10 cut at the center in the X direction. In FIG. 4, some elements are omitted or simplified for ease of understanding. As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, the lighting device 10 has a front case 12 having a substantially circular opening 11 formed in the front, a visible light cut filter 14 disposed in front of the front case 12, a reflector 20 accommodated in the internal space of the front case 12, an LED board 30 attached to the rear of the reflector 20, a connector board 42 having a connector 40 extending rearward, and a rear case 50 having an opening 51 formed in the front for receiving the connector 40. In this embodiment, the front case 12 and the rear case 50 form a housing 60 extending from a front edge portion 12A of the front case 12 along the Y direction (depth direction). The front edge portion 12A of the front case 12 and the visible light cut filter 14 are disposed so as to fit along the design surface S of the instrument panel 1 described above.

[0012] The visible light cut filter 14 is fixed to the front surface 12B of the front case 12 with double-sided tape 15 (not shown in FIG. 3). The reflector 20 is fixed inside the front case 12 with screws 16. The LED board 30 is fixed to the reflector 20 with screws 22. The rear case 50 is fixed to the front case 12 with screws 52.

[0013] The LED substrate 30 includes two LEDs (light emitting diodes) 31 and 32, and in this embodiment, these two LEDs 31 and 32 are aligned in the Z direction (height direction). The connector substrate 42 is formed with contacts 44 that are electrically connected to pins 41 (see FIG. 4) in the connector 40, and one end 46A of a lead wire 46 is connected to each contact 44. The other end 46B of the lead wire 46 is connected to a contact (not shown) on the LED substrate 30 that is electrically connected to the LEDs 31 and 32.

[0014] 4, the connector 40 is exposed at the rear end surface of the rear case 50, and a mating connector (not shown) can be inserted into the connector 40 in the +Y direction from the rear of the rear case 50. With this configuration, when inserting the mating connector into the connector 40, the mating connector can be inserted straight into the connector 40 along the +Y direction (depth direction) without tilting it. Therefore, a large space is not required for the task of connecting the connectors to each other.

[0015] Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Fig. 4, Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in Fig. 4, Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in Fig. 5, and Fig. 8 is a view of the lighting device shown in Fig. 6 as viewed along arrow 90, showing a state in which the visible light cut filter 14 has been removed. In Figs. 5 to 7, some elements are omitted or simplified for ease of understanding. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the optical axes 31A and 32A of the LEDs 31 and 32 are inclined at an angle θ in the +X direction (width direction) with respect to the Y direction (depth direction) so that the light is directed toward the driver's seat D.

[0016] The reflector 20 has a reflective surface 25 formed to surround the optical axes 31A, 32A of the LEDs 31, 32. As shown in Figures 4 to 7, the reflective surface 25 is formed to gradually expand outward from the LEDs 31, 32 along the optical axes 31A, 32A. By forming the reflective surface 25 in this manner, the light from the LEDs 31, 32 can be collected to more effectively illuminate the driver's seat D.

[0017] In this manner, in this embodiment, the front edge portion 12A of the front case 12 and the visible light cut filter 14 are arranged along the design surface S, and the housing 60 can be arranged along the Y direction (depth direction) without tilting the entire housing 60. Therefore, when embedding the lighting device 10 in the instrument panel 1, a large space is not required in the X direction (width direction) or the Z direction (height direction). In addition, since light is emitted along the optical axes 31A and 32A tilted in the +X direction with respect to the Y direction, light can be effectively irradiated toward the driver's seat D (illumination area) that is not directly facing the design surface S for illumination. In this manner, the lighting device 10 in this embodiment can enhance the design unity with the design surface S of the vehicle interior F and effectively illuminate the driver's seat D (illumination area).

[0018] In addition, in this embodiment, since two LEDs 31 and 32 are used, the power of light illuminating the driver's seat D (illumination area) can be increased. Furthermore, since these LEDs 31 and 32 are arranged in the Z direction (height direction), the length of the reflective surface 25 of the reflector 20 at the height of each of the LEDs 31 and 32 can be made approximately the same. That is, the length of the reflective surfaces 25A and 25B of the reflector 20 at the height of the LED 31 shown in FIG. 5 can be made approximately the same as the length of the reflective surfaces 25C and 25D of the reflector 20 at the height of the LED 32 shown in FIG. 6. Therefore, the light from these LEDs 31 and 32 can be effectively collected using the reflective surface 25 of the reflector 20, which is similarly long, to illuminate the driver's seat D.

[0019] In the above embodiment, the two LEDs 31 and 32 are used as the light source of the lighting device 10, but the number of light sources is not limited to two, and any number of light sources can be used. In addition, the type of light source is not limited to LEDs.

[0020] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the front case 12 and the reflector 20 are provided as separate members, but the shape of the reflector 20 may be formed inside the front case 12, for example by integral molding, to integrate the front case 12 and the reflector 20.

[0021] In the above embodiment, the lighting device 10 is disposed to the side of the driver's seat D, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the lighting device 10 may be disposed above the driver's seat D. The lighting area illuminated by the lighting device 10 is not limited to the driver's seat D, and the lighting device 10 can be configured to illuminate various areas in the vehicle cabin depending on the purpose. In this case, the terms indicating positional relationships such as the above-mentioned "depth direction," "width direction," "height direction," "front," and "rear" are used in relation to the illustrated embodiment, and if the position or attitude of the lighting device 10 changes, the directions indicated by these terms also change accordingly.

[0022] As described above, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lighting device that can improve the design integration with the design surface of the vehicle interior and can effectively illuminate an illumination area. This lighting device includes a housing that has a front edge that can be arranged along the design surface of the vehicle interior and extends along a depth direction, at least one light source that is accommodated inside the housing and can emit light along an optical axis that is inclined in a width direction perpendicular to the depth direction with respect to the depth direction, and a reflector that is accommodated inside the housing and has a reflective surface formed to surround the optical axis of the at least one light source.

[0023] According to this configuration, the front edge of the housing is arranged along the design surface, and the entire housing can be arranged along the depth direction without tilting, so that a large space is not required inside the design surface in the width direction or height direction. Also, since light is emitted along an optical axis tilted from the depth direction to the width direction, light can be efficiently irradiated toward an illumination area (e.g., the driver's seat) that is not directly facing the design surface. Therefore, according to the lighting device of the present invention, it is possible to improve the design integration with the design surface of the vehicle interior and to effectively illuminate the illumination area.

[0024] The reflecting surface of the reflector is preferably formed to gradually expand outward from the at least one light source along the optical axis, thereby enabling the light from the light source to be collected and the illumination area to be illuminated more effectively.

[0025] The at least one light source preferably includes a plurality of light sources arranged in a height direction perpendicular to both the depth direction and the width direction. By using a plurality of light sources, the power of light illuminating the illumination area can be increased, and the length of the reflecting surface of the reflector at the height of each light source can be made substantially the same, so that the light from the plurality of light sources can be effectively collected using the reflecting surfaces of the reflector that are equally long to illuminate the illumination area.

[0026] It is preferable that the lighting device further includes a connector into which a mating connector can be inserted along the depth direction. With such a connector, the mating connector can be inserted straight into the connector along the depth direction without tilting it, so that a large space is not required for the operation of connecting the connectors.

[0027] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and may be embodied in various different forms within the scope of the technical concept thereof. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 1 Instrument Panel 10. Lighting Equipment 12 Front case 12A Leading Edge 14 Visible light cut filter 15 Double-sided tape 20 Reflector 25 Reflective surface 30 LED board 31,32 LED 31A,32A optical axis 40 Connectors 42 Connector board 46 Lead Wire 50 Rear case 60 Housing D. Driver's seat F Cabin S design surface

Claims

1. a housing having a front edge portion that can be disposed along a design surface of a vehicle interior and extending in a depth direction from the front edge portion; a first light source fixed inside the housing and capable of emitting light along a first optical axis inclined in a width direction perpendicular to the depth direction with respect to the depth direction; a second light source that is fixed inside the housing and capable of emitting light along a second optical axis parallel to the first optical axis, the second light source being aligned with the first light source in the depth direction and the width direction and disposed at a different position in a height direction; a reflector fixed inside the housing, the reflector having a cylindrical first reflecting surface formed to surround the first optical axis of the first light source and a cylindrical second reflecting surface formed to surround the second optical axis of the second light source; Equipped with The first light source and the second light source are arranged adjacent to each other in the height direction, and the first reflecting surface and the second reflecting surface are connected to each other in the height direction. Lighting equipment.

2. 2. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein the first reflective surface of the reflector is formed to gradually extend outward from the first light source along the first optical axis, and the second reflective surface of the reflector is formed to gradually extend outward from the second light source along the second optical axis.

3. The lighting device according to claim 1 , wherein the first optical axis and the second optical axis extend along a plane perpendicular to the height direction.

4. The lighting device according to claim 1 , further comprising a connector into which a mating connector can be inserted along the depth direction.

Images